Indian apps like Chingari, Khabri gain from TikTok ban, have a long way to go yet

Chingari, a TikTok competitor, witnessed a sudden spike with over 5 million downloads in the last four days. Similarly, Khabri witnessed 80 per cent spike in downloads whereas Rooter has been growing 8x in daily users. Since the government of India banned 59 apps including TikTok and Helo, there has been a sudden incline and motivation amongst Indians to move towards the homegrown ecosystem, and download Indian apps.

Industry experts believe that the temporary ban is just a small trigger of motivation to move towards the digital ecosystems of Atama Nirbhar India. Just like any other country, the current scenario is igniting us to think about helping each other and growing together as a nation. This is the biggest psychological factor behind the sudden rise of Indian apps. With an added focus on national pride and security, the current context is a great opportunity for Indians to grow together.

Tapping a new audience, the app developers are leaving no stone unturned. Platforms are even luring TikTok influencers to migrate and are helping them monetise too. For instance, Khabri, with more than a million downloads, is turning out to be a great platform for creators in Hindi-speaking markets across India. With around 40,000 influencers already on the platform, the company has got over 5,000 new influences onboard in the last two days. "Influencers can join 'Earn With Khabri' programme through Khabri Studio App and make their channel on which they can start creating content and publish it on Khabri App. There is an opportunity to earn from day one through 'Gigs' in addition to regular monthly earning basis content consumption", says Sandeep Singh, Co-Founder and President, Khabri.

Industry experts believe that most apps similar to Tiktok, such as Mitron, Chingari, ROPOSO are getting organic downloads because of the positive 'Atma Nirbhar' sentiment in India. People are also naming them as 'Revenge Download'.

"Brand advertisements or mentions are the primary channels of influencer revenue and TikTok ban has taken it away from the influencers. The content format was unique and as such an immediate transfer of an influencer's audience to another existing platform would help," says Ankit Chaudhari, Co-Founder at Aiisma. A hyper-local social platform, Aiisma creates opportunities for influencers to recreate brand content in their way and shape and market it to the audience following them 360 content format including video, pictures and opinions with rewards or compensation align into each.

But it isn't as easy as it looks. "Investment from brands is always directly proportional to the content consumption pattern of the consumers. Brands must only invest money in the platforms which attract and are consumed by their target audience. Similarly, influencers always opt for platforms that have a wider reach and diverse earning opportunities. On average, TikTok is currently less than 1 per cent of the total digital ad spends in India so other apps can look into SaaS-based models to make more revenue within India," says Honey Singh, co-founder, #ARM Worldwide.

"I have been managing TikTok influencers for a long time now, and by seeing their commitment and dedication towards the platform, I don't think they would be switching to any other competitive application anytime soon. Many of them already have good followership on platforms like Instagram and YouTube so they will concentrate to work on those platforms and be connected with their fans until TikTok is back," avers Ardasa Satsangi, Founder, Naked Media.

Prateek Rana with 1.6 million followers on TikTok echoes the same sentiment. "Switching to any other competitive platform is not a good idea. I will post on Instagram only until TikTok comes back, and will start my YouTube channel," says Rana.

While the Indian app players boasting about the increase in the number of app downloads and registrations, they still have a long way to go as for now the major opportunities are being shifted to YouTube and Instagram.